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John "The Quickfire Kid" Woodlock
BACKGROUND John "The Quickfire Kid" Woodlock was the leader of the Brennan's Raiders until the gang's demise in 1913. His lust for revenge against Klaus Von Bettstadt fueled his rampage and the formation of his gang which would be attributed to the title of a Dying West Gang. 1865-1881 John Woodlock was born in Blackwater to a moderately wealthy Irish family attuned to construction, from a young age he demonstrated a stubborn attitude towards cowardice and unreliability, presenting himself in the light of a leader. His first sign of strength was presented when he had to bury his pneumonia-ridden mother. His father noticed even though he kept a straight face, there was some sadness and fear being bottled up. Growing up, he absorbed himself in hard labor and knowledge of woodworking and metalworking to enhance his skills. Once again, presenting qualities of independence and leadership, and, at 16, he was hired by his father, Axel Woodlock, at Blackwater Construction to develop local businesses. John was the foreman behind Le fort's Banking during the building phase. 1881-1885 During a wedding for Adam Le fort the following year, John met Claire "Rose" Woodlock, who he admitted an infatuation towards, which she reciprocated. During the following years, John and Claire's affection for one-another grew, and eventually, they found land to build what would later become The Hanging Dog Ranch, to grow crops, livestock and house John, Claire and Claire's family of farmhands. John, with very little experience in farming, kept his career in construction, rising through the ranks to earn the distinction and recognition as a foreman for his attitude, ability and intelligence in Blackwater's construction. 1885-1888 During this time, John needed to save up money for his planned marriage to Claire, so he partook in being a part-time police officer. From here, he learnt how to properly use his firearms and more questionably, draw a crowd with an interesting public execution. Although he admitted some enjoyment from it, he would later compare it as an ant-sized event to what he would eventually commit. 1888 John and Claire officially married in Blackwater, and the couple begin plans of raising a family to inherit the ranch and wealth of the family, John begins storing money in a lockbox for the future. John later explained this was the happiest time in his life, as he enjoyed waking up to the "Best person alive" every morning and enjoyed holding her every night. Yet, John wouldn't indulge deeply why they didn't have kids until much later in the century. 1893-1897 On one night when returning home from work, John witnessed a blaze from where his home stood, on further inspection, John saw shot, stabbed and charred bodies, the lockbox belonging to John survived the fire, but was broken open, along with the surviving hat belonging to Claire, angered and depressed, John vowed vengeance against the killers, who turned out to be Klaus and his gang. John flees into the seedy underworld of society in order to make money for weapons and ammunition to gun down Klaus. During this, John isolated himself from society for protection and anonymity, yet, he began to rack up a bounty. 1894 John, with the funds from several jobs, began to purchase weaponry, and in one case, dismantled and modified a Double-Action Revolver, in his care, John's modification allowed the chamber to revolve even faster before, he commonly referred this weapon afterwards as the "Triple-Action" Revolver. 1897 While camping in Tall Trees, John was ambushed and chased by "The Butcher" after a lengthy chase. Instead of capturing John outright, John had promised Ollie that if he assisted him in killing Klaus, John would peacefully surrender to Ollie and allow him to collect both their bounties; Ollie accepted this opportunity and the duo began to hunt down Klaus in the West. John had lost all contact with his family in Blackwater, assuming that they're either dead or ashamed. 1898 While in the West, John and Ollie were attacked by a group of Klaus' men, being beaten and bruised before they crumpled from a hail of bullets by "The Boy" Joe and Wind "The Farmer" Cries, after being dragged to his feet and thankful, John wanted to repay a favor, and welcome them to the group, however, Ollie felt cold towards the hulking native, seeing potential, John overruled such objection. John learnt that Joe's ranch had been seized by a gang, in which the Raiders assaulted, soon after eliminating all guards, John identified the men to be Klaus' from their wanted posters, with a realization, he got the gang to search all the bodies for Klaus, however, he escaped. They followed rumors and speculation for the rest of the year, and by December, John's gang arrived in Saint Denis, with the knowledge of Klaus' whereabouts and escape plan given by a lone thug, which John mercilessly slit his throat as a payment. By New Years' Eve, the gang attacked Klaus' home once more, slaying his guards as he fled, John told the gang not to board the boat as they watched him squirm on-board, as he began sailing, John ordered Ollie and Cries to throw dynamite as he fired at the boat, Joe soon followed as the boat ruptured in a hail of explosions, John felt catharsis wash over him as he witnessed the certain death of Klaus. John assured that when they recovered his body, he would turn himself in with Ollie to claim his bounty. 1899 John's catharsis slowly turned to rage when his paranoia began eating at him about Klaus' fate, and when the camp was attacked by men commissioned by Klaus, he let his anger out as he kicked the last gunman's skull in with his boot, causing him to bleed to death. Packing up once more for the months of travel, the gang had conversed, camped and hunted together, which created a bond that was solid between Cries, Joe and Ollie, when poked, John would speak about his past life and his dedication towards killing Klaus for what he did to his wife. The Raiders once more traveled to Armadillo in order to bait out John's existence to Klaus. During this time, John remained quiet for most of the journey. However, with much probing from Ollie, John opened up with stories of his time before starting the raiders up. He talked about Claire, his job and how he loved life; until Klaus took it from him. He also explained that why he didn't have kids too quickly because John wished to build another home before they were born on the ranch and to use the entire land for their family. He also revealed that he always wished to have a son named Colin. From there, John realized all of his companions lost their families growing up, too. Both Ollie and Cries were attached to their fathers as Joe was attached to his mother. The following months allowed that bond to grow between the men as they fished, hunted and traveled towards Armadillo to end this charade. In Armadillo, John instructed Joe to find Klaus when he is sleeping and to remove all revolver bullets from his guns, and for Cries to hide in the post office in case Klaus seeks shelter in there, as for Ollie to observe from the roof with a rifle in case the plan fails, before Joe left, John proposed a plan, in which after Klaus is killed, the money Ollie collects from the two bounties can be used to rebuild John's land after his death as a "Thank You.", saddened by the plan of John to surrender, he ultimately agreed. The day later, Klaus stumbled into the saloon to find John, as the two engaged in a tense gaze, John hovered his hand over his revolvers, getting the idea, Klaus suggests the two to duel out in the street, to which, John agrees. The two outlaw leaders stood back-to-back, and took their paces, when John turned to fire, he did not pull the trigger, however, Klaus did. Realizing John was still standing and checking his empty chambers, Klaus ran towards the post office to escape through the back door and into the wilderness, however Cries emerged from the entrance and slammed Klaus to the ground, Ollie and Joe both emerged from their hiding spots to aid Cries in carrying Klaus, however the native had the outlaw hanging from his shoulders as he walked over to his leader. With the only thing John can see was Claire, his home and life flash before his eyes, he didn't even notice Klaus cursing him as he dragged and dunked Klaus into a water trough face-down, as he struggled for air in the trough, John placed his boot on Klaus to ensure he wouldn't escape once more, and only relieved pressure once he noticed the air bubbles had stopped forming. With Klaus dead for real this time, John raised his arms towards Ollie in surrender, however, Ollie lowered his arms in a sign of friendship that surpassed their deal, and with that acknowledgement, John stepped away from the trough and allowed Ollie to carry Klaus to collect his bounty. After celebrating the death of Klaus, Joe and John revealed their plan to rebuild the ranch, although surprised, both Ollie and Cries accepted the idea and the group began their journey to the land. HANGING DOG RANCH Along the path to the ranch, John and the gang met with several outlaws, gang members and gunslingers who admired and hated Brennan's Raiders for killing Klaus, those who were willing either joined the gang or fought the gang, by the end of the year the posse had amounted to 40 members from all different backgrounds and stories. John got most of these people to help rebuild the ranch he lost and by 1900, John, Ollie, Joe, Wind and 36 members had a ranch, camp, farm, doctors, merchants and more on the land, with a growing community on the land, John even had security and events held with his gang. As a gift to commemorate the completion of the ranch, Joe presented John with the broken Mauser of Klaus, and in a strange twist of events, John decided to take the Mauser into the tool-shed of the barn to recreate the weapon, minus the gemstones of the weapon, which were instead used to create a new pendant for Joe to pass down to his family, as a sign of respect from John. With the creation of the Mauser and pendant, Joe and John stored the memorabilia inside the old lockbox which held John's old future. 1903 - 1910 While out on a fishing trip with several members on February the 8th, John was ambushed by bounty hunters who fired at the band of Raiders, killing several and injuring others for capture as John fired back until all his chambers were empty. On fleeing the area, John was shot in the side from a rifle round, incapacitating him to be arrested and sent to Sisika Penitentiary on the account of his crimes. John spent 9 months in prison awaiting execution, and, on December 8th he was sent to the mainland to be trialed in front of court in Saint Denis. On his arrival to Saint Denis, the prison wagon was tilted over in a storm, knocking the occupants over as the spooked horses driving the wagon fled the area, with no way to move John, the guards opted to drag John to Saint Denis. John was moved through the swamps outside of Saint Denis in the storm, wet and injured from the fall, while fading in and out of the remaining fragments of his reality, he was awoken with a forced drop onto the swampy grass as the guards hid from the weather. John began to lose consciousness as he heard sloppy stomps from behind, once again awoken, John turned his head to see the hidden guards' bodyparts latched in the jaws of several alligators. Frightened, John attempted to run in his shackles, only to step on a snake and to be bitten on the leg, falling over once more, in pain, John crawled further and further away from the swamp, finally passing out from the scenario on the main road to Saint Denis. John woke up in spare clothes, bandaged and without shackles in a shack in the swamps, John was surrounded by people he clearly knew were also prisoners at one stage in their lives. The people there explained that they are former slaves and decedents who fled from their masters down south. John thanked the people immensely for their help and opted to repay them for the debt he was placed in. The people (who were named the "Free Ones") allowed John to stay and to help them fish and hunt for supplies over the coming weeks, and by the end of March, 1904, John had payed the Free Ones and helped them develop their lands and homes to modern and respectable standards, creating a sheltered and strong community before leaving, hitching a wagon to the West to reconnect to his people. In April, John had arrived in Blackwater, keeping his head down and noticing the influx of law enforcement in the area, opting to make more money before returning home. For days, John hid in his spare clothes, donned in a neck-scarf and gloves. He begged and spent the small change on meals in the pub, but through this, John overheard a conversation which allowed him to seek an opportunity, it regarded the illicit cougar-meat trade running through the city, allowing a semi-sober John in dusty clothes to charm the men into becoming a bodyguard for these trades; at first they laughed him off, but saw the potential in a 'nobody' protecting them. For years, John held security over meetings with an old and dusty shotgun to scare off any deviants with little to no difficulty, building up the reputation of his persona, "Merchant". Until one meeting in October of 1909, where several butchers in local areas and tycoons disagreed over payments, as John grabbed a crusty bottle from his pocket, wondering when he can return home without dying from bounty hunters, a blast scared him, dropping his bottle and smashing it. As he searched for the source of the blast, he saw the butchers dead with the tycoons aiming weapons at him. Defeated, John lowered his shotgun, raising his arms as the men lowered their weapons, and their boss stepped forward, looking John in the eyes with surprise as he reached out his hand, ready to shake it. John slowly shook the hand and lowered his scarf as the man spoke, introducing himself as the "Hellfire Harris", hailing from the swamps of the Free Ones as a child to see John help his people. The young man knew it was no Merchant he saw, but The Quickfire Kid. Surprised on why he is in Blackwater, he asked John why he didn't return home, John explained that law enforcement have been eyeing up the roads since his escape years ago. Pondering for a second, Harris opted to clean up John in a suit, a clean cut and to drive him out of the city in the protection of his tycoon. John graciously took up the offer and allowed Harris to drive him to Hanging Dog inside of the Model T, John was astonished how a Free One made a name for himself to buy an automobile, and on inquiry, Harris revealed that he used to listen to John talk to the Free Ones about how to hold your own in the modern world, allowing Harris to make money from his construction business and meat-packing factory further East, he also revealed that he eliminated the butchers for their entrapment and murdering of cougars, which made them endangered in the area. John felt pride as Harris let him sleep in the automoblie as it traveled on gravel-paved roads all the way back to his home. When he woke up, John saw a different ranch than he remembered; it was more reinforced, the front fences were replaced by large stone walls and the entrance now held a gate with armed men standing there. As John and Harris got out, the men aimed at the duo, claiming for help from backup on the inside as they believed the men to be government enforcers. With the doors opening, several men pooled out, aiming their weapons at John, shouting obscenities and abuse at the man, until one guard grabbed John briefly, before getting whacked from behind, John looked up to the attacker behind the guard to see a gruff, older and angrier Ollie bark to the men that they're stupid for not remembering the Boss. Ollie allowed the car to be moved inside of the gates as Harris, Ollie and John made way to John's old home, which had been upgraded to a mayor's house. Inside, John was welcomed to Cries, Ollie and Joe, surprised and at peace to have finally have closure on John's fate. Ollie shook his friend's hand strongly, noting that he had to act tough for the newbies in town. From there, the men celebrated as John told his story, and they told theirs of how they built the ranch into a city of freedom after one injured survivor from the ambush returned to the ranch briefly before his death. The event was so strong that a plaque was erected in the graveyard to remember those who were ambushed that day. Through the next few days, Harris and John explored the new city, allowing the duo to learn from each other before Harris returned to civilization, keeping contact with John long after he left. On Feburary 8th, 1910, John attended the Memorial Day at the yard, giving a speech on the braveness and respect he held for those men. MEXICO In the early morning of January 5th, 1912, John was greeted by the sight of a lone, injured man while out on guard duty. The man explains in raspy breaths that he recently escaped a prison in Mexico and sought refuge before he can get back on his feet and go back. Upon noticing the alerted posse, with weapons drawn, the man knew he was surrounded if he tried anything. John, calmly, asked the man why he wished to return to Mexico. The man explained a cache of gold beyond reasonable measures slept in the caves, and he offered to split the gold 50/50 between him and his posse if they assist him; John, seeing the opportunity to use the gold to pay off the bounties and debts of all his posse in order to let them lead normal lives once more, took no hesitation in agreeing. The man, who introduced himself as Corey “The Kid Clfc” was invited into the ranch’s main home, where he was given supplies and a bed to sleep. Throughout the weeks of recover, John decided on which gang members he would take, and in the end he compiled a list consisting of Himself, Corey, Ollie, Joe and Cries, when the day arrived where they decided to move, John had put the ranch in charge of another aspiring member and local leader named Theodore Bags. Stocking up, the gang began to traverse among the plains with a map to guide them. Along the journey to the Mexican border, Corey explained to the men that the gold belonged to former pirates who had left the stock there for when they returned with the “Largest bounty to even overshadow what’s already there.”, however the same story also told them that their ship was later sunk by cannons off the coast of Ireland in 1708 after a daring heist led astray. When the gang reached the San Luis River, they followed the newly-built train tracks across into Mexico, avoiding local law enforcement as they followed the map along the coast for the next two months. APRIL, 1912 By April, the gang had arrived at El Mejor Cambio, the area where Corey fled and learnt of the gold. From there, the gang had to follow Corey’s instructions from the story; “a cave where the gold slept”. The gang had set up a camp by a nearby waterfall and while they all took time to comprehend the situation, John pondered the phrase on how it was worded; it was irrational, gold doesn’t sleep, but it does lies dormant, maybe in a cave, but the extraordinary weight requires an some accessibility. With that thought, John decided to go undercover, and to blend into the local society with ragged clothes and an old poncho. Searching for clues, John noticed the immaculate villa stood on a cliff, and with further snooping, he saw the area was heavily guarded. John believed that the villa is where this gold is held, but with the guards, he knows he’ll be shot if he attempts to go in through the gates. However, in a moment of genius, every piece of the phrase clicked with his interpretation; the gold sleeps in the cave system that must connect the villa to the bottom of the cliff. Giddy on the idea, John turned around to return to his gang, however he met a local guard, face-first. Falling to the ground, the guard began shouting as Spanish as he raised his rifle to hit John, however, he rolled out of the way, causing his hat to fall off. With the guard amused, he picked up the hat and began imitating John. John, angry with the guard in Claire's hat, climbed to his feet and wrapped his arms around the throat of the guard, who tried to shout, yet the air was being cut off by the old outlaw, who watched the life drain from his face before hitting him a headbutt, knocking him out. The outlaw picked the hat from the unconscious body and looted his rifle and pockets for ammunition. Eventually, John returned to his gang and stumbled upon their creation of a boat which they were going to use for fishing. On explaining his theory, Ollie opted to use the boat with John to find out if it is true or not, and the two had set out later that day to the sea. John mapped the area while Ollie rowed until John spotted the opening he believed was there, knowing that it must be the cave system, he ordered Ollie to turn around and to help him plan. MAY, 1912 Over the month, the gang had created two large enough rafts from local resources to sail in and steal enough gold for them to be wealthy. With the rafts’ completion, John’s plan came to fruition as that very night, the gang boarded the rafts towards the cave, and once they broke inside, John lit his lantern, examining the chamber they entered, John could see that it is also an armory, holding ammunition and explosives. With an idea storming, John continued onward into the cave to find a lone ladder which reached upwards, climbing it, slowly he saw it went into a chamber right above the armory, and, with an exasperated sigh, saw the shimmers of gold dance along with the swaying of his lantern. Climbing down once more, John pointed upwards to the men, and quietly said he has a plan which includes the dynamite. However, seeing how alert the guards were before, John told Joe and Wind to move the ammunition and machine guns onto one of the rafts just in case there is large enough resistance. While they loaded up the guns and ammo, John and Ollie grabbed dynamite, which they fastened between the cracks and crevices of the cave along a lengthy wire. When the gang was done rigging one room, John used the wire and climbed back up into the room full of gold, to rig the floors surrounding the massive pile in the middle of the chamber. With the final stick wired-up, John heard a gasp, as he turned around he was struck across the face by a large, dapper-looking Mexican. John swung backwards as he fell onto his side, with the Mexican towering over him, John reached up with a punch, striking him in the groin, and as he fell, John raised up to wrap his hands around his throat, choking the man as he pleaded to be let go. Angrily, John continued choking until he saw the man beginning to fade away, then, let him go to hastily climb back up the cave’s ladder into safety, John followed soon after, being blinded by the extravagant lighting of the villa. However, with a whistle blowing, John knew he was in for a fight. And he felt the small door underneath him open up, he stood behind where the hinge turns, and John grabbed the figure as he climbed up, aiming his revolver to the man's temple, only to let go when he realized it was Ollie. Relieved, John was more calm to have another gun on his side, and the two began to arm up to fight the army. With whistles coming closer with angry Spanish slurs being thrown, John and Ollie fired rounds from doors and windows, striking the army as they advanced further into the villa, with John noticing larger numbers, John issued Ollie to climb back down the hatch to escape. Ollie trusted John with the order as he opened the hatch and began climbing down as the old outlaw gave covering fire. When the firing stop, John took the opportunity to make a break for the hatch, yet, as he began to climb down, he looked up to see a familiar guard rifle-butt him in the face, smashing his cheek and nearly costing his balance, with a heartbeat of a moment left, John removed one hand from the ladder and to his revolver, in which, he aimed up and fired through the guard's chest, showering him in fresh blood as the body fell backwards, letting John enough time to climb back down. Tired, John descended down the ladder and gave the 'all clear' to the gang. Unfortunately for them, they heard more men climbing down the ladder, with a quick ignition from a match, John and the gang reached the safest area of the cave; in direct view of Cries and Joe's guns. As guards fired at Ollie and John, they dived to the ground and Cries fired into the cave from the raft, hitting the guards, until he accidentally struck Corey in the leg, with a loud cry, it was soon drowned out by the explosion, bringing the upper cave down as gold fell around the gang, however, debris had divided the main chamber from the area, and with that, Corey was also lost behind the wall of debris. Without a moment to waste, the gang loaded up the rafts with all the gold they could before sailing off into the night, back home. SEPTEMBER, 1912 When the gang arrived home to America, the gang had a coach carry the weapons and gold back to the ranch, they also had added Corey's named to the graveyard beside the barn, signed with "Bravery among Brothers" by John. and with the arrival of the guns and gold, John had sent Bags into Valentine's post office with the name and bounty money of each and every member, which was cleared off over the coming months. Going back home and tended for his broken cheek and nose, John had decided to expand the ranch and to create new homes for the members, expanding over the nearby fields and land with homes, stores, saloons and other amenities. The members had now been given a chance to leave the ranch alive, and to peruse a life they couldn't before; few left, and many stayed. By the gang's absorption into the new community surrounding the ranch in 1913, John was elected the mayor of the town, which he accepted and served until his retirement and succession by Bags, and eventual return to obscurity, living with the only family he had left. John watched the people around him move on in life, such as Cries being married to a lost Apache, Ollie adopting his estranged son and Joe marrying a young French girl. All three raising children at the ranch, and his name being "City Slicker" to the children. John had a deep affection for the gang's children, often reading them stories from books and newspapers in order to teach them how to read and write. They always tuned in for the stories of Brennan's Raiders' escapades, fawning over how influential their fathers are, clearly wanting to emulate them. The children saw the aging John more as a grandfather than an uncle due to his age and attitude towards his men and townsfolk, who all seemed to appreciate John for what he had done in the past. With the children echoing their fathers, John hatched a final plan, not for monetary gain, but to make a story for his surrogate grandchildren. John rounded up a few shopkeepers, police and bankers in the town and discussed setting up a fake robbery to make the children feel like outlaws. The people involved followed John happily, and the City Slicker rounded up the children to hatch a plan. He said for them to wear bananas and use nicknames. The children approached the bank, and entered with a hardy attitude echoing of their fathers, who demanded money from the 'intimidated' robbers, and when he sounded the alarm, the children ran from the bank, chuckling and laughing as the police 'chased' them from the bank all the way back to their grandfather's ranch, in there, they were reunited with their fathers as they celebrated their first successful heist. John later thanked the men and returned the money for their efforts in cheering up the children. John occasionally was paid visits from writers, fans and aspiring gunslingers who wanted to meet the infamous leader before his passing, and in each visit, John would give a gift to the guest, in the form of medicine, alcohol or a moral-layered story to refine them a little more, same way in how he treated the posse in his youth.